Career horoscopes: Oct. 28 - Nov. 3

Christopher Renstrom is the creator of Rulingplanets.com which is his idea of an on-line, subscription-based, interactive Astrology Magazine. It is based on his bestselling book Ruling Planets, which was published by HarperCollins in 200...

Playing for keeps

A Mars/Pluto trine is one of the most successful planetary aspects you can hope to have. That's because the trine — a harmonizing energy in Astrology — harnesses the ambitious energy of Mars with the relentless drive of Pluto, thereby pushing you to exceed even your own personal expectations. Thankfully, the energy is not so much ruthless as it is persistent, and it's your perseverance against all odds that will bring the breakthrough that you've been looking for on Oct. 31. But bear in mind that trines — though always fortunate — also signal the need for protection, because the ancients believed that any stroke of luck made you the target of others' envy. Watch your back — because you're playing for keeps.

VIRGO (Aug. 22 - Sept. 21)

Focus on each day as it comes and you'll get through the week in one piece. This will be challenging since you're dealing with a backlog of work combined with an influx of new orders and assignments. Nevertheless, propitious trines and sextiles on Thursday and Friday show that years of hard work have given you lightning-fast reflexes and razor-sharp judgment. You'll be too preoccupied to obsess over details. When all is said and done, you will have gotten more done in these 48 hours than you have in weeks.